Type Advantage
by Car
Summary: Misty held the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "One thing, Ash. There was only one thing I asked of you before we left Alola. Do you remember what that one thing was?" "Well... I vaguely remember-" "Don't put yourself in the hospital!" She interrupted. "That's what I asked you. Ring a bell?" Pokeshipping


The steady beep of the heart rate monitor filled the room as Ash stared out the window from his hospital bed, bored out of his mind. While yes, his head and foot hurt like nothing else, he was pretty sure it was the boredom was going to kill him before any of his injuries could, a point in which he made sure Pikachu and Rotom knew roughly every five minutes.

"Piika," Pikachu sighed after his last whine, shaking his head.

Rotom nodded in agreement. "Pikachu is right, Ash. You need to rest so the antidote can effectively make its way through your system. You also have a concussion, so moving around a lot is not a good idea either."

Ash whined loudly again.

"It'll just be for a night," Rotom reminded him.

"This is gonna be the longest night _ever,_" Ash sighed.

"Pi pikachu," Pikachu agreed, crawling into his lap. Ash smiled a bit at that. At least he had Pikachu and Rotom to keep him company if nothing else.

After Lana, Lillie, and Mallow had found him and got him to the hospital, Professor Kukui and Professor Burnet were called and arrived shortly after. Once everyone was sure Ash wasn't in any real, mortal danger, the professors took the rest of his pokemon back home with them, with the promise to pick him up in the morning.

Too bad it was going to be the _longest night ever_. They didn't even want him to go to sleep for a few more hours. Besides talking to Pikachu and Rotom, all he could really do was watch TV, which Rotom had taken control of to watch _Alolan Detective Laki_, which yeah, was a good show, but not something he necessarily wanted to watch until three in the morning.

Ash sighed, fluffed up his pillow and settled in the night ahead of him.

_"Ring ring ring! Ring ring ring!"_

"What's that?" Ash asked, sitting up at the sudden noise. He checked the bedside table. "My room phone isn't ringing, so where is that...?"

"Oh! That's me!" Rotom explained, talking loudly over his ringer. "Professor Burnet said she might call you before they went to bed, this must be her." With that, he zipped over to the corner and turned away from Ash, so as not to be distracted. "Ash's room, Rotom speaking!" he chirped once he had answered the call.

"_ROTOM, PUT ASH ON THE PHONE THIS INSTANT_."

That didn't sound like Burnet.

Ash shared a look with Pikachu, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Either Ash was going crazy, or that sounded an _awful lot_ like...

"Misty?!" Rotom exclaimed. "How did you get my number?"

"Never mind that!" she snapped, and Ash felt every hair on his body stand on end as his blood ran cold. She sounded _pissed. _"Turn around and let me talk to Ash!"

"Nononono," Ash whispered desperately. "Don't! Don't let her see me!"

"I heard that!" He heard her bark. He cringed. "Rotom, turn around!"

Sweating, Rotom shot Ash a panicked glance, trying not to turn around fully and get him into the shot. Ash made a big X with his arms and shook his head wildly, before immediately wincing and deciding that wasn't the best idea after getting a serious head wound.

"Rotom, you turn around right now, or Ash wont be the _only one_ getting care at the hospital tonight, you hear me?" Misty seethed, and Ash knew he was done for.

"Sorry, Ash," Rotom mumbled apologetically.

"Traitor," he bit out, just before coming face to face with the image of a furious, red faced Misty. He could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears.

"_ASH KETCHUM!_"

"Oh, heeey Misty..." he sang sheepishly. "Long time no see! You look well."

"Shut it," she snapped, holding the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "One thing, Ash. There was only _one thing_ I asked of you before we left Alola. Do you remember what that one thing was?"

"Well... I _vaguely_ remember-"

"_Don't put yourself in the hospital!_" She interrupted. "_That's_ what I asked you. Ring a bell?"

He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I do kinda remember something like that... Hey, how did you even know I was in the hospital?"

"Lana told me."

_Lana_, he cursed to himself. _Of course_ Lana told her. The two had become fast friends since they met in Kanto, which was cool at first; he always liked to see his friends making friends with each other, but now he was seriously rethinking that excitement.

"Now Misty," he began, "you don't know the full story."

She scoffed. "What story? You were being an idiot and weren't following basic ocean safety rules for paying attention to your surroundings, stepped on a toxapex, got poisoned, fell, and cracked your head open on a rock."

Ash smiled, self-consciously scratching at the bandage wrapped around his head. "Okay, so maybe you _do_ know the full story."

Misty sighed. "Oh Ash. What am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing the rock I fell on hasn't done already, I hope," he laughed, and despite herself, Misty allowed herself a little chuckle as well. Ash was relieved to see her calming down. That was always the thing with Misty, she was like a firecracker; she would suddenly, dangerously explode, but at least it usually didn't last long.

"So, are you stuck there long?" she asked, finally softening.

Ash sighed. "Just for the night. They wanna keep an eye on me to make sure the antidote clears the poison out of my system and keep tabs on my head. It's real boring."

"I bet," she nodded. "At least Rotom is there to keep you entertained."

He nodded, paying extra attention to not nod too much and aggravate his head again. "Pikachu is here too, wanna say hi to Misty, buddy?"

"Pikachupi!" Pikachu cried happily as Ash lifted him into frame. Misty beamed.

"Hi Pikachu!" she said with a wave. "I miss you!"

"Pi! Pi pikachu!"

Ash grinned, placing Pikachu onto his shoulder so he could join their conversation. "I'm not allowed to sleep for a few more hours to be on the safe side. Pikachu claims he's gonna stay up to keep me company, but I don't think he'd gonna make it."

Pikachu rolled his eyes, making Misty giggle. "I'm going to be surprised if _you _make it. You could barely stay up with Brock and me when we camped out a few weeks ago."

"The nurses keep poking their heads in to check on me." he explained, pointing towards the door. "Professor Kukui gave them permission to throw water on me if I start to doze off. I know he was kidding, but more than one has walked by with a cup, and it's making me kinda nervous."

"Now there's a job I wouldn't mind having!" she laughed. "Official Ash Ketchum waker-upper."

Ash snorted. "Oh, yeah right! You always hated waking me up when we traveled together."

She grinned. "It'll be different if I get to throw water on you. Brock never let me, but I think it could be really effective!"

"Kachu!"

"Pikachu, don't agree with her! You're supposed to be on my side!"

Misty burst into laughter at that point, and Ash found he couldn't help but chuckle along with her, even if it was at his expense. Honestly, it was no surprise that Pikachu would take her side in almost any argument the two managed to get themselves into, a point Misty teased him for relentlessly, but he still liked to act offended whenever it happened. It was almost an inside joke between them at that point.

Misty's laughter was unfortunately cut short by a yawn, which she tried to fight, but ended up giving into.

"Sorry," she yawned again, giving her face a light slap to try to keep herself awake.

"It's okay, it's late over there. Do you need to go?"

She shook her head. "It's not that late, I'm fine."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow, "It's after midnight there, Mist. If you need to go to bed, go to bed."

"I don't need to go to bed," she insisted. "Really. The gym is closed tomorrow, so I don't need to wake up early or anything. I'm good, I promise."

Maybe it was selfish, but despite knowing Misty was lying (she was a horrible liar), he decided not to push it. He was having a good time talking to her, and the conversation had helped to keep him awake. He decided to see if he could help her stay awake as well.

"So what's new with you?" he asked, leaning back to get comfortable. Pikachu slipped down from his shoulder and back into his lap, he scratched behind his ears absentmindedly.

She shrugged. "Nothing really. We got a new goldeen."

"Don't you guys already have like, twelve?"

"We sure do. I told you, news is slow these days."

"So that's it?" he asked doubtfully. "_Nothing_ else is new in your life except for a thirteenth goldeen?"

She shrugged. "I don't know what else you want me to say."

"Anything!" he laughed.

She grumbled good naturedly. "I don't know! Uhh... I got asked on a date last week. Is that exciting enough?"

Well, that was- wait, what was that?

"You got asked on a date?" he asked in surprise.

"Yep."

"By who?"

"Just a challenger."

"Did you go?"

"Of course not. Don't be silly."

"Why not?"

She paused for a moment, and Ash got the distinct feeling she was scrutinizing him through the screen. "Why do you care?" she asked, though the question lacked the bite she probably intended to include with it.

"I don't care."

"It sure sounds like you care."

"I don't, and stop trying to change the subject." A quick glance into his lap revealed Pikachu had indeed fallen asleep. He smiled a bit at the sight, and returned his questioning gaze back to the screen. "I'm legitimately asking. Why didn't you go? You're such a self-proclaimed romantic, I thought you would be totally interested in dating."

It took Misty a few moments to reply, as if she was piecing her answer together very carefully before speaking, which Ash found somewhat peculiar. He didn't see why the question was that difficult.

"Well," she said finally, with a kind of tired sigh. "Just because I like romantic things, it doesn't mean I feel romance towards everyone. This guy wasn't my type, so I turned him down."

"What if he had been your type?"

For some reason, Misty blushed. "I don't have a type."

Ash frowned. "You just said you did."

"No, I said he _wasn't _my type."

"Which means you have a type!" Ash exclaimed, rolling his eyes. Now she was just purposely being difficult. "Okay, how about this: What would this guy had to have been like for you to say yes?"

And now she was blushing even deeper for some reason. "I-" she started, but quickly cut off whatever she was about to say, choosing to glare at him instead. "Can we please talk about something else?" she grumbled.

"It's this or the goldeen, apparently."

She scoffed. "At this point, I'd rather talk about beedrill. Can we please change the subject?"

"Fine, fine." He shook his head. "But _you_ have to pick a topic."

"If I may interject." The duo jumped slightly as Rotom popped back into their conversation, clearly forgotten about by the both of them, despite being the reason they were talking in the first place. "I think I may have a clue to help us solve this mystery!"

Misty looked confused, so Ash quickly mouthed '_He's been watching a lot of Alolan Detective Laki_'. She _'ooh_'ed silently and nodded in understanding.

"What mystery, Rotom?" Ash asked, humoring him.

"Well!" Rotom explained excitedly. "I've actually been running a personality compatibility scanner while you two have been talking. Now, it's not a perfect science, but according to my data, I have compiled a list of traits that an ideal romantic match for Misty should possess!"

"What?!" Misty screeched, looking flustered. "You can do that?!"

Meanwhile, Ash was ecstatic. "What?! Really?!" he cried out with a laugh. "Oh man, that's awesome! I need to hear this."

Rotom puffed up a bit with confidence, ignoring Misty's desperate pleas for him to _please shut up_, he cut her off, pulling up a pie chart to fill up the majority of his screen, pushing her into a tiny box in the bottom right corner.

"Misty Compatibility Results," he began. "Misty's ideal romantic candidate. Traits include kindness, bravery, determination, and selflessness. This person should be goal orientated, passionate, and have a strong sense of justice. A keen knowledge of romance is not a strong factor. Preferred Appearance: Traditionally tall, dark, and handsome, though hair color and height have little influence. Generally prefers brown eyes. Pokemon training experience a plus."

By the time Rotom was done, Misty's head was buried in her hands, the tips of her ears burning an angry red that Ash could only assume was also covering her entire face as well. He snorted in amusement at her discomfort. She could be so dramatic sometimes.

"Aww, Misty, they sound nice!" he teased. "Maybe now that we have a type, we can be on the lookout for this mysterious perfect partner of yours."

Misty groaned, running her hands down her face.

"Actually Ash," Rotom announced happily. "I am way ahead of you!"

"What... do you mean... by that?" Misty spluttered slowly, her eyes widening comically.

"I went ahead and ran another personality analysis with all of the people I have in my database, and I actually found someone that came in at a 99% match!"

"What?!"

"Oh man, really?!" Ash grinned at Misty's horrified face through the screen. "Who is it Rotom? Do I know them?"

"Actually Ash, it's funny you should ask that! The person is actually-"

"WELL!" Misty cried, forcibly cutting off Rotom. "I think that is _quite_ enough of that for tonight!"

Ash pouted, raising an eyebrow at her outburst. "What? Don't you wanna find out who your soulmate is, Misty?"

"It's not _me_ finding out that's the problem," she mumbled irritably under her breath. "Rotom, be a detective and think for a second, _please_, what reasons might I _possibly_ have for you to not reveal what you are about to reveal."

Looking between the two quizzically, Ash watched as Rotom frowned, his buffering wheel spinning around a few times before beeping pleasantly.

Finally, it clicked. "Oooh," Rotom uttered in realization, once his search results came back with an apparent answer. The two shared a small, secret nod of understanding which each other. "I see. That makes a lot of sense actually. No problem, data updated!"

Misty sighed in relief. "Oh, thank Arceus."

"What's going on? What am I missing here?" Ash asked in annoyance.

"Don't worry about it," Misty said easily, waving him off. "But, on that extremely stressful note, I really should be getting to bed." She offered Ash a soft smile in response to his still somewhat irked expression. "It was really good talking to you, Ash. I miss you."

"Yeah, yeah." He pouted, biting back a smile. "I miss you too, Mist. Even if you are a jerk who wont tell me anything."

She laughed, and Ash found it even harder to keep up his put-on annoyed glare at the sound. "You stop putting yourself in the hospital, and then we'll talk," she giggled. "You take care, too, Rotom! And... thank you."

"Bye Misty! Your secret's safe with me!"

Misty let her eyes linger on Ash affectionately for just a moment more before the phone app clicked off, and Rotom returned to his home screen.

Ash leaned back into his pillow, a wave of contentment washing over him, as it often did after talking with his old friends, Misty specifically. He sighed, cracking an eye open to look at Rotom. "So, you gonna tell me what that was about?" he asked cynically.

"Sorry Ash, no can do!" he chirped back. "A promise is a promise."

"I thought you'd say that," Ash scoffed playfully. "Fine, whatever, keep your secrets, then. I don't even care."

They sat in silence for only a moment, before Ash spoke up once again. "Hey Rotom. Just out of curiosity... what does that compatibility scanner say about _my_ type?"

Rotom grinned. "I didn't think you would be interested in things like that, Ash."

"I'm not," Ash clarified, but despite his best efforts to seem aloof, he knew he was blushing.

The gentle look Misty gave him right before she hung up drifted around in the back of his mind and, ignoring Rotom's annoying, knowing look, he felt himself flush just a tad deeper.

"I just have... a hunch."

Smirking, Rotom pulled up Ash's pie chart.

O

**_Haha get the pun? Because Ash is Misty's TYPE, and pokemon have TYPES hahaha. I think I'm funny._**

**_Probably the last thing I'll post for a while since I go back to work in a week, but I wanted to get this posted before I have to go back to being an adult again._** _**Where on earth did summer go?! **_

_**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this! I'm going to miss Alola so much when it ends, but I'm excited to see what Galar has in store for us! And hopefully this school year will be kind to me and I'll have the energy to keep writing, but who knows. Fingers crossed!**_

**_Thank you for reading!_**

**_-Car_**


End file.
